I Was Reborn to Love You
by loislane777
Summary: Spoilers for 4x07. Elena finally realizes her feelings for Damon and allows them to consume her, but is anything she feels even real? Damon and Elena process as Stefan drops the "sire-bond" bomb on their budding romance.
1. I Was Reborn to Love You

**Okay everyone. I just need to say one thing about 4x07.**

**WHY? Why couldn't her love for him be completely pure, the way his is for her?**

**Why can Damon never win? He's officially the only character on the show I even remotely like anymore, and I love him with all my heart. Elena could learn a thing or two from me.**

**Sired. What a load of crap.**

**Anyway. Here's some angst venting from Damon and Elena, I hope you like it, and I hope this happens. Because I don't think you can sire-command someone to love you, and even if you can, Damon never did that to Elena. She chose to love him.**

**I Was Reborn to Love You**

Elena's POV

I let out a deep sigh. I can feel Damon's arms wrapped tightly around me, as though he were afraid deep down that I will slip away, and for that reason he will never let go. And I revel in it. There is not an ounce of the suffocation that I felt as Stefan tried and tried to change me, tried not to see who I was becoming, tried to hold onto the girl I was. Here in Damon's arms I feel whole, I feel like I am finally real.

_You have never looked more alive._

I smile against Damon's chest, moving slightly in an attempt to be closer to him than I already am. And I know. I know without a doubt that this is it. I am drawn to Damon in a way that I cannot explain, that I cannot fight, that I do not want to resist. I know that I would follow him anywhere just as surely as I know he will never leave me. It's incredible to me that I ever dreamed staying with Stefan was the safe choice, that his love was better for me; because I have never felt safer or more loved than right here in the crushing grip of Damon.

I feel him stir, loosening his grip slightly as he shifted to look at me. I immediately mourned the loss of contact, but was rewarded when I gazed up into his face.

It's been a while since I've really looked at Damon from this close. I don't think I've ever seen him look happier. He wasn't really smiling, but there was a raw joy in his eyes that kept mine raptured in his. In this moment I wish for nothing more than to look into this face every morning. To see Damon Salvatore watching me watching him and bask in his glow.

"Hi," he whispered, a faint smile surfacing. I felt myself smile back.

"Good morning," I replied, snaking my arms around his torso and holding him to me in case he had any thoughts of leaving this bed. The small action transformed his smile into an enormous grin, and he moved up one hand to run his fingers through my hair.

This is so right, I know it is. This is the only time since I have become a vampire that I have felt so…._human._ I shuffle my body up a little higher along his and push my smiling lips against his. I can feel our hearts racing together, the passion of last night not diminishing in this sweet kiss, only transforming into a message. I hope he hears it in my desperate clinging and sees it in my eyes. I need him.

Eventually our lips part, but we remain close together, breathing each other's breath. My eyes are still closed, but I can feel his gaze once again on me. It's setting me on fire. My body begins to move of its own accord, one leg slowly sliding over both of his, and together we rotate so I am straddling him, our faces still only inches apart. Only now do I open my eyes, and what I see makes me inhale sharply. Damon's eyes are burning into mine, turning into a dark shade of slate as my slow movements torture him into arousal. I feel his body harden below me and now the lust is all I can think about. I lift my hand and stroke his face softly before leaning down and once more pressing my lips against his.

This time it is not just a sweet kiss. He moves below me and I groan against him, grinding myself against his boxers. I'm acutely aware of how little clothing we have on. I'm in one of his button-up shirts and my underwear, and he's in…well…his underwear. And I can't stop moving. His tongue slips into my mouth and he flips us over, meanwhile I'm practically writhing below him, attempting to gain some relief.

Then suddenly we both have to stop as we hear the front door open, and the one person neither of us wants to see is calling for us.

Damon's POV

I hear my younger brother's voice echo through the boarding house. _Shit._ Here I am with Elena _writhing_ below me and baby bro is once again getting in the way.

I press one last kiss onto my sweet Elena's lips before getting dressed with vamp speed. Sure I'm annoyed that his timing is so predictably awful, but I know how much the breakup hurt Stefan, and I'm not about to rub my passionate night with his ex in his face.

Fully dressed, I turn back to Elena. She is still sitting in the bed, practically _pouting_ at me for leaving her so abruptly. She is wearing only my shirt (which is hanging open) and a skimpy pair of underwear, but I can barely tear my eyes away from hers. She is so incredibly beautiful. How is it possible that Elena Gilbert is finally mine?

"God, I love you," I murmur so only she can hear me as Stefan climbs the stairs, "but you have to get dressed," I add regretfully. She smiles coyly at me, thumbing closed the buttons of _my_ shirt on _her_ body and my heart stops for a moment. She presses a finger to her lips and speeds into my bathroom, hiding in the shower.

At that moment Stefan bursts rudely into my room.

"What's up, Superman?" I smirk at him, trying to ignore his highly accusatory glare, trying to ignore his eyes flickering to the odd piece of Elena-clothing strewn around the room, the broken furniture, and the messy sheets. Trying to ignore his glare soften to something close to pity before he shakes his head and apparently renews his resolve to be angry.

"Damon, where is Elena right now?" Stefan demands, arms crossing over his chest. I shrug, giving my best 'I-have-no-idea' face, but I can't stop half a smirk from creeping onto my features. Stefan just sighs.

"Do you know?" he presses.

"Know what?" I question defensively, wondering what latest piece of news is here to burst my bubble.

"She's sired to you, and you took full advantage of that."

Oh, shit.

I feel my insides drop as I attempt to process. There are just too many words in those two sentences that I cannot compute.

Sired to me?

I took advantage of her?

Shit.

Determined not to be the emo brother, I cement my smirk into place, burying my sinking heart, and shrug in what I hope is a nonchalant gesture. Stefan glowers at me from my doorway and I wonder to what extent he hates me right now, but in an instant my heightened hearing picks up on a shaky breath coming from my bathroom. My smirk instantly falls as stare at the floor.

"Don't you worry, I'm going to find the cure, and I'm going to fix her. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to make sure Elena makes the right choice," Stefan swears.

"Okay, State-the-obvious-Stefan," I quip weakly. At least it doesn't seem like he hears Elena. Still not quite enough human blood in him for him to pick it up. "Why don't you go work on that, then." I bring myself to look at him, managing only a baleful glare that I can only hope isn't rimmed with tears. I can barely feel my face. _What have I done._

Stefan walks out, slamming the door behind him. I hold my breath and I can hear Elena do the same until we both listen to the front door slam as Stefan speeds away. And I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I still have the strength to do it.

Elena staggers out of the bathroom, my shirt now fully buttoned up on her. _Of course it is, I told her to get dressed,_ I remind myself bitterly.

Her eyes are wide, gazing at me, and I'm suddenly frustrated by the way I have no idea what she is thinking right now. And on top of that I have no idea whether or not what she's thinking are her thoughts or just her sired thoughts! I growl in anger and after a brief hesitation she steps closer towards me.

"Damon?" She prompts shakily, and I feel myself stiffen.

"Damon, I… I know what you're thinking, but I _chose _you. I came here of my own accord! What Stefan is saying makes no sense!" She rambled desperately, and I wonder if she knows where the borderline between her feelings and my influence is.

"Hey, Elena..." I meet her gaze, my anger softening to pity. This beautiful, strong woman - how could it be possible that I have any control over her? She has always been an enigma to me, just out of reach. Reaching for her felt like reaching for cookies on the top shelf, I stroke her only to push her further away.

"Elena," I begin again, "you know that I love you, and I will always love you. I will always choose you." She nodded, a tear forming in the back of her eyes.

I take a shaky breath and continue, "Good. Then listen to me and do exactly as I say." Confusion crossed her face as I stepped towards her and grabbed her arms, not letting her escape. "Once upon a time, you chose Stefan. Tell me why."

"Because I loved him," she replies, "but now-"

"Yes," I cut her off, "you loved him. You loved _Stefan_. You don't love me," I feel my own tears begin to surface but I persevere, "you didn't choose me, you only came to me because you are sired to me." The words I am saying are ripping my heart out. I wonder vaguely if will ever recover from this. And there is Elena, gazing at me as though I can say nothing wrong, and it's killing her. Desperately I try to ease her burden.

"This won't be the end for you, Elena," I offer encouragingly, "you and Stefan will be back together before you know it. I'll leave town." I know I have to, and I hate it. "I'll leave you two to pick things up again where you left off before I intervened. Drink blood however you want to, and live the life you want to live."

The tears are beginning to spill over for both of us, and I'm feeling a sense of deja-vu. Her necklace, my confessions, my insecurities, all on the table. And as always, I am showing her the way back to Stefan, her _epic love._

I can see that Elena, precious Elena, beautiful Elena, who I thought was mine only minutes ago, is rooted to the spot, aghast. So I take it upon myself to speed away, no clear destination in mind.

Elena's POV

I blink, and he's gone.

What the hell just happened?

Sired?

I only went to him because I was sired to him?

The words don't make sense to me, but the more times I run over them, the more convincing they seem. _Is that because I'm sired to him, too?_

I can't believe it. I want to rewind to where I am trapped in Damon's loving arms. I have been craving him for so long.

But me and Stefan will be back together before we know it. That's what Damon said. It must be true. Damon wouldn't lie to me. I trust him so completely.

Something about this is so wrong, I can't quite put my finger on it. I want _Damon_. I need _Damon_. He never told me to feel those things….did he? No, I'm sure of it, this was completely my choice. But how will I ever convince him? Especially since me and Stefan will be back together before I know it. Because I chose Stefan. And I chose Stefan because I loved him. And this won't be the end for me.

No. No, no, no. I scrounge desperately around the room for my clothes, feeling relief as I get dressed. _Is that because Damon asked me to do it?_ And a better question, _do I care?_ My brain is on overdrive, my hyper-active vampire emotions rocking my body. I sit on the edge of Damon's bed, still trying to process. Okay. Tyler and the other wolves were sired to Klaus because they felt like they owed him, because they would never have to turn again. Why would I owe Damon? Why am I sired to him?

I'm desperate to figure it out. Because this can't be it. I'll have to find a way to break the sire bond, like Tyler did. Not so I can get away from Damon as Tyler needed to escape Klaus. But to get Damon back. To show him that my feelings - which are still so young and untouched and enormous that I am frightened to give them their true name - my passion, my lust, my need, my want of him - to show him that it is real. And it is from me.

Damon never asked me to sleep with him.

He never commanded me to feel for him.

But how will I ever convince him?

-fin-

**Well that's that.**

**If I get a good response I may write more. For now this is just a one-shot vent that I hope will be continued on-screen next week as our favorite couple mends fences. I have been waiting for Delena for years and this is what I get?! I can't even.**

**Please let me know what your own thoughts are on 4x07 and what you think is to come :)**


	2. Stronger than Fake Loyalty

**Wow, thanks for so many reviews! Craziness. Well you win and I get to "vent" some more. **

**I think you will all find it interesting if you refer to S03E21 at 29:20.**

**That's the inspiration for this chapter.**

**Stronger than Fake Loyalty**

Elena's POV

I hold my breath as I knock.

There is a small comfort offered to me in that I am attempting to defy one of my sire-bond commands. Damon told me that I would go back to Stefan. I know now that I must avoid that at all costs. But it will happen before I know it - _if_ I cannot negate the siring. And all because I loved him. The past tense I have begun to use does not escape me. The love I had for Stefan as a human remained exactly the same when I became a vampire. As time passed over the first few days of my adjusting, however, it weakened in the face of Damon.

Damon.

What am I ever going to do?

Finally the door opens, and I'm greeted by Caroline. Her face makes me turn away, it's so covered in a mix of pity and disappointment. She steps outside, and we quietly sit together on her front steps.

"Where is Damon?" She asks slowly, testing for my reaction, I suppose. I merely shrug. I truly wish I knew where he was. Turning to Caroline, I see that she's frowning. Her mouth opens and closes a couple times, as though she is trying to form words but isn't sure which ones to pick. I sigh.

"I know about the sire-bond theory," I inform her, and the way her mouth snaps shut confirms my suspicions that it was her idea. But that's why I came here. "I need help breaking it."

She turns to me, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Yes! Elena! Let's find Stefan and-"

"No!" I shake my head, a shadow of fear passing over me, "Caroline, I know you want us back together, but listen to me. When Damon found out about the siring he _told me I would go back to Stefan._" I need her to understand. Her eyes widen slightly and she nods.

"So you're worried if you go back to Stephan now, it won't be real," she concludes sadly. And she almost got it right.

"I _know_ it won't be real, Caroline!" I try to convince her, "I- I have- I feel- I need _Damon_!"

I can tell that this is not enough for her. But I know that she will do everything she can to break the sire bond, and that is exactly what I need her to do. Especially now that she knows anything I potentially might have with Stefan would be a lie in my mind. And for some reason that I cannot place, she needs me and Stefan to work.

"Fine, fine!" Caroline sighed, "I'm gonna call Tyler, we'll see what he thinks, okay?" I nod, a small smile creeping onto my face. Tyler. Tyler will actually understand, at least a little more so than anyone who has never been sired.

Damon's POV

I stare out the window, barely watching the road as I zoom miles and miles away from Mystic Falls. Somehow I try to convince myself that I did the right thing, that I set Elena free. Over the years I had turned the odd vampire here and there, and honestly there was a time when one of them was sired to me. At the time I was not connected to my humanity and it was easy to use her. I didn't really need her to love me, I was still waiting for Katherine; I just loved it when she did everything I said. It was the first time I had ever felt in control and so wanted. But everything is so different now! I slam my fist against the steering wheel, rage clouding my vision, and I have to swerve to stay on the road. I don't want to _control_ Elena. I love her, I just want her to choose me!

But maybe Stefan is right. I obviously don't deserve her. Why would Elena ever choose me? I am so wrong for her. Yet still. Still a nagging voice keeps wondering if my little brother is all about free will, or if he will relentlessly try to change her until he gets her back. He has already gone to incredible lengths, lengths that human Elena would have surely broken up with him over. Forcing Jeremy to become a murderer? Not a way to get back in her pants!

But what do I know? After all, Stefan and Elena are _meant to be_. Maybe there are different rules in that scenario. Whatever, not my problem. Not anymore.

I push down on the gas a little more, egging on my car to take me away faster from the little town of Damon-Fucks-Everything-Up.

Elena's POV

I glance around the table awkwardly. I'm sitting with Caroline and Tyler, and the tension is incomparable.

At first, when he had come in, she had greeted him warmly, smiling and hugging him before planting a kiss on his lips. He had stood stiffly through the whole thing, just staring at the floor.

"What is it, Tyler?" She had asked.

"You know, if you wanted information on the sire bond, you could have just gone straight to Klaus," Tyler suggested, attempting to be neutral but betrayed by his bitterness. Caroline took a step back, her jaw dropping slightly.

"What?" She breathed.

"You heard me," Tyler was really getting angry then, "Take up this siring shit with Klaus! He's the oldest vampire ever and I'm pretty sure he's sired more than any other! He'll tell you, he obviously loves sharing his life story with you!"

"Tyler…" Caroline pleaded, but he turned his face away. It was then that I stood up to intervene.

"Tyler, I need your help, I can't go to Klaus with this."

And then we sat around the kitchen table, and now here we are.

"What can I do for you, Elena?" Tyler asks, and I try and work through exactly what I need to ask him.

"Well, I'm sired to Damon," I take a deep breath, "But I think I also have real feelings for him." I search his expression, trying to read into what he was thinking, but it was blank. "Tyler, what was it like with you and Klaus? How did you find out that you weren't acting under your free will?" I ask desperately.

"He made me hurt Caroline," Tyler answers stiffly, "Even when I told him flat out that I wouldn't do it, I did it anyway. Even though I loved her more than myself….something in me subconsciously couldn't resist his command. That's when I knew that I had to break free." I sigh. That will never happen for me, because Damon _is_ the one I want to be with.

"I wanted him when I was a human, too," I remember hollowly, and wonder not for the first time why I didn't just choose him back then. If I had, no one would be questioning my motives, trying to pin it on some form of compulsion instead of what I really want. This seemed to throw Caroline, for the next second she had cut in.

"No, Elena, you did not! You wanted _Stefan_ when you were human! Remember? The choice? The reason you became a vampire in the first place was because you were coming back for Stefan!" She ranted, clearly peeved and believing that my siring was now clouding my memories of my human life. I shook my head.

"Caroline…" But I didn't know what to say. Human me had been given a choice, and she had made the wrong one; why? Because it was safe. I knew this was true. I loved my safe Stefan. _It's like he will never die._ That's what I had confessed to Matt, a lifetime ago. And Damon had seemed on the verge of death at all times, and that very thing made him so much more alive.

"I thought that all of this choosing was over," I whispered, my voice catching as tears formed for the thousandth time in my eyes, "I thought that now, it was over with Stefan, and I could finally be with Damon. Just be with Damon. Why did this have to happen _this way_? It feels cheap." Now the tears are beginning to flow over, and I look down at my lap.

"Elena… why exactly do you want to break the sire bond between you and Damon?" Tyler asked. I blanch. Why _did_ I want to break the sire bond so badly? The bond between Klaus and his hybrids had caused them nothing but pain, and he treated them as nothing more than servants. I feel my eyes flicker back to meet Tyler's.

"So that I can be with Damon," I answer with all the honestly I can manage.

"You can be with him now," Tyler disagrees, frowning, "So why do you _really_ want to break the sire bond?"

He's really going to make me say it. He's going to make me reveal all my insecurities, make me reveal my deepest fear.

"So that Damon can be with me," I choke out a sob, wondering for the enth time why this had to happen to us.

"Elena…I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Klaus," Tyler says, "Real love is stronger than fake loyalty."

I smile through my tears. I know that he's right. That is what Damon was pushing me towards with Stefan. Fake loyalty. For me to be with him again only because Damon said it was the right thing. Yet I can't bring myself to resent Damon for it, he was only doing what he thought was right.

"Damon told me to live the life I want to live," I start slowly, "And I want to be with Damon." My small smile grows as I speak my next realization out loud, "I guess technically that means I have no choice but to chase him down."

Caroline is looking at me in horror, but my grin doesn't fade. Like it or not, Damon has bound me to himself. I can almost feel his arms trapping me against him once more. I almost feel the freeness I felt this morning. I stand, resolving to ignore the sire-suggestion that I reunite with Stefan. Deep down I can't shake the implanted notion that we will be back together, but I'm banking on Damon telling me that that isn't the case, so that I can be wrapped up in his beautiful trap for all eternity.

I would love nothing more.

As I move to open the door, someone knocks. I look through the glass pane to see Stefan.

My heart races mechanically as the door swings open.

"Stefan."

_We will be back together before I know it_

**Okay guys, now I obviously have to write another chapter, because this is not a Stelena story. Somehow Damon has to realize that he needs to fight for Elena, he can't just keep allowing her -even pushing her- to return to Stefan. This is kind of an extreme example of that.**

**Next chapter I'm gonna delve into why **_**I**_** think that Caroline has such a bee in her bonnet about Delena. And I'm sorry Tyler, but you're not gonna like it!**

**Please send me more of your lovely reviews. **


	3. Please Come Home

**Hey everyone. Here's the third instalment of how I'm praying next week's episode goes down, although from the already released promos and etc., I can see that I'm definitely off. That's how fan fiction goes, right? I've done my best to incorporate bits and pieces from the next episode but beyond that I'm really making this stuff up - well, you could say these are hypotheses, since they are predicted results based on past observation.**

**Thanks so much for all your kind reviews. You've improved a very bad day.**

**Please Come Home**

Elena's POV

My vampire balance fails me, and I stumble back a few paces.

"Hello, Elena," Stefan greets me, obviously attempting to put on a caring face but only managing a sort of disgusted pity that makes me feel like a slug.

"Hi," I reply, blushing. _Blushing? What is wrong with me!?_ I turn away, only to be faced with a now standing Caroline.

"Stefan, we're all in agreement. She needs to break the sire bond, ASAP," she said. I turn back to Stefan almost _involuntarily_ and see that he has moved forward and is now only a couple feet away from me. He is looking at Caroline and nodding, avoiding my eyes.

"We will be together again, before I know it." Wait, what? What did I just say! I can't get together with Stefan! I need Damon! Yet even as I realize this, Stefan is finally looking at me - really looking at me - and closing in the inches between us.

"Elena… Is that how you really feel?" He stares intensely into my eyes, and there is an animal's fierceness beneath them. A quiet rage, just waiting to be invited to the surface. I know my next words are critical. I'm afraid to open my mouth.

"Of course it is!" I hear the bubbly betraying voice of Caroline Forbes behind me, "What did I tell you, Stefan! Finally she is coming to her senses!" I silently beg her to stop, but I cannot turn away from Stefan, and I cannot open my mouth because I no longer trust it to be connected to my brain. So she continues.

"Like I said, you and her, epic! You are who is is meant to be with! Who cares if she suddenly has feelings for someone else? It doesn't mean anything! She would be crazy, totally crazy, to leave you and go off with the bad guy! Sometimes, Elena," now she's speaking directly to me, so I finally find the strength to turn away from Stefan and look at her, "Sometimes we need to sacrifice the danger and the adventure of loving someone new, because there can only be one person that we're meant to be with."

I hear Tyler shift behind her, clearly he has been hanging on her every word.

"Is that really what you think, Caroline?" He mumbles, and it hits me.

"Caroline…. Damon isn't Klaus," I hiss, a sudden rage giving me the strength to break free of the spell of silence I had been under.

"What- "

"No!" I fume, cutting her off, "Don't even start! Just because you have feelings for Klaus and don't want to think about it _does not_ mean that you get to _vicariously_ keep your perfect world perfect by making me stay with Stefan!" She's openly gaping at me, for once at a loss for words, so I keep going, grasping onto the courage raging through me. "I _love_ Damon," and as soon as it spills out of me I know it's true, and it's wonderful, and now I'm smiling, "I've been falling in love with him this whole time. I forgive him for everything he's done to me and the people around me, and-" I grab Caroline's arms, determined that she hear me, "Just because you aren't sure if your feelings for Klaus are real doesn't mean that mine for Damon are less valid."

I've clearly taken the wind out of everyone's sails, so I snatch the opportunity to turn to Stefan, using every ounce of my self control to tell him the truth: "Stefan. I love Damon. He never asked me to do that. In fact, he _told me_ to love _you_." This throws Stefan even further, he now looks completely taken aback.

"He told you to love me?" He whispers, and I wonder if I am seeing a shadow of remorse cross his features.

"Yes," I plead him with my eyes to understand, "Because I did love you, so he thinks I still can. But I _can't_, Stefan. I care about you, but I am _in love_ with Damon."

And with that, I walk out the door, pushing past Stefan. I'm brimming with pride at my rejection of Damon's sire command. I need to find him. To tell him. My love for him is stronger than the sire bond I have with him.

I head to the sheriff's office.

Damon's POV

Fireball.

That's the name of the amber liquid I'm currently staring into. The little shack of a diner I had decided to stop at had completely blanked me on bourbon, instead offering me this whiskey for underage girls. Really. The stuff tastes like cinnamon hearts. A far cry from the rich, intense flavour of all the alcohol I left at home. I sigh. I can't drown my sorrows with this. I briefly wonder what Rick would say about it if he tasted it. I smirk, I know exactly what he would do, he would hate it and drink it anyway. So I cheers to him silently, throwing back the candy-like hard liquor as quickly as I can.

As I put the glass down my mind strays back to Denver. How it felt to have my eyes glued to the eyes of the human Elena. The way that she looked at me like she would never look away. The way that it drew me in towards her, rendering me powerless to resist. And she had seemed just as caught up in the moment, or perhaps, I had dared to hope for only an instant, it wasn't just a moment for her. Perhaps, I had hoped, she was caught up in her _love_ for me. I could have sworn I glimpsed it in her eyes that night, heard it whispered in her voice. But it was only a ghost of the love I had, still have, for her. Only a shady reflection of it.

And now we are in a similar position. Elena loves me with the ghost of my love, with a sired loyalty mixed with a newborn vampire's lust.

It's too much.

"Another one," I mutter, sliding the glass across the counter for some more of the horrendous whiskey.

Anything is better than thinking about my life right now.

No brother, no Rick, no Elena.

Totally alone.

I choke the whiskey down.

Only now do I feel the vibration of my phone ringing in my pocket.

Elena's POV

I hold my breath as the phone rings on and on. I imagine Damon, torn between answering and hearing my voice or just pretending to not care. I plead with him quietly to pick up. _Pick up._

"What!" He snaps into the phone. I can't stop the smile at his indignant, familiar answer.

"Damon don't hang up, please don't hang up." I watch Sheriff Forbes gesture to me to keep the conversation rolling. Meanwhile, the other end of the line is silent.

"Damon?" I call into the receiver, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't hung up.

"What is it, Elena?" He's trying to sound cool with everything, but I can hear the undertones of despair. My smile falters. "Why are you calling me?" He presses, almost harshly.

"I'm calling you because I - I want you to come home," I stammer, not wanted to give him my confession over the phone.

"Elena, you were sired to me, of course you want me to come home," he sighs deeply. I think I hear his breath catch in sorrow.

"No!" I desperately try to change his mind, "it's not the sire bond, Damon, I know what I feel is real! Please," now I'm starting to cry, "please come home. Please just come home so we can talk about this."

"Elena, all I can hope for is that you can learn to be free of me one day," Damon chokes out, his voice thick, "I never wanted you like this." _Click._

I'm really crying now, but Sheriff Forbes is offering me a small smile.

"We got his location, Elena."

And I know what I have to do.

**Alrighty well there you have it. Elena's love connection to Damon is stronger than her sired connection. This means he can't make her go away. He can't push her back to Stefan.**

**And I really think the reason why Caroline is having such a block about Delena is because she subconsciously sees the parallel between early stages Delena and Klaroline. She still just so desperately wants to be the perfect girl with her perfect boyfriend, Tyler. I think she believes that if Elena and Stefan can make it work then she can still make it work with Tyler. I'm excited to see where the writers take Caroline and Elena in the rest of this season.**

**Please review. The more you review, the faster I'll get the next chapter up**


	4. I Can't be Selfish with You

**Hey again everyone!**

**Wow, I can't thank you enough for all your reviews - not to mention favourites and follows! You are all clearly as hungry for next week's episode and more Delena as I am.**

**Honestly, I've found writing this fic kinda cathartic. By the time I was done I felt a little bit better about the sire bond. I hope you do, too.**

**I Can't Be Selfish With You**

Elena's POV

This road is so stupidly long, I think to myself, growing more and more agitated with every passing second. I'm incredibly aware that this is my one chance, and I'm hoping beyond hope that Damon won't have moved on by the time I arrive at the Diner that Sheriff Forbes pointed me to.

Today has been dragging on for hours. The sun is only now beginning to set, and it's only about 6:00. I can barely grasp the massiveness of what has gone down in the last 24 hours. Here I am in the car, desperately chasing after the one person I could have sworn this morning would never leave me. Just this morning we were scantily clad, bumping and grinding and making out in his bed. Just the memory of my night with Damon Salvatore is enough to turn me on all over again, but I force myself to focus. I need to find him. Reach him, not only physically but on an emotional level. I know for a fact that he loves me just as much as I love him, I just need to convince him that my feelings for him are real. And I've had this whole car ride to decide what to say, so I have a pretty clear idea.

I'm going to make him realize how right he is for me.

Damon's POV

If I am anything, I am a man.

And men don't cry.

So why is it that I have shed more tears than I can count for this one girl?

I sigh heavily, now about 10 shots down the road to unfeeling. Unfortunately, it takes a ridiculous amount of alcohol to get me drunk - and far more than that to keep me drunk for any decent amount of time. Too bad I still care too much to turn off my humanity and truly disappear. We'll have to fix that.

No, what I really need right now is a _real_ drink. I look along the bar. _Bingo._ Seated alone in the corner, one white-girl-wasted lonely white girl. Bonus, her blood will even help me on my quest to get shit faced. So I waste no time in sliding smoothly into the seat next to her.

"Hi," I greet her cheerily, giving my very best smirk-and-eye-thing-combo. She turns to me, blushing. Either that or she's just flushed from the alcohol I can smell coming out of her pores. I lean in a little closer, compelling her; "You're completely blackout drunk, so you won't remember any of this tomorrow, but you're going to come outside with me so I can drink your blood. And," I add on sudden inspiration, "You're going to _love it._"

"I'mma love it," She slurs back at me, a seductive smile forming on her face. Well, she was trying to be seductive, but really she just looked incredibly drunk. I grin, feeling suddenly back in my element. The ultimate predator. Finally, no one to try to live right for! Somehow something creeps into my mind that _this_ is not what frees me, _this_ is what traps me, but I push it down. I've been self-righteous enough for one day, what with sacrificially pushing my almost-girlfriend back to her ex. Time to neutralize all that good karma.

After all, I'm still a monster. I'm still a vampire. I'm still the guy that will never deserve- and will never _get-_ Elena.

"What's your name?" I ask as I take the girl's hand in mine and begin to lead her outside, determined to distract myself.

"Megan," she replies sluggishly, grabbing onto my arm to afford herself the balance needed to walk. I steer her out the door and into the woods, walking until I'm sure no one would hear the odd scream.

"Okay, this is far enough, Megan," I inform her, turning to push her up against a tree. I pin her there, one of her legs in between the two of mine, and I lean in, pushing my entire body up against hers. I hear her emit a breathy moan as I lean in, breathing against her neck, and she arches slightly, pressing her core against my leg. Looks like this girl is desperate. This is going to be so much fun. I sink in my fangs.

Megan lets out a loud cry at the sudden penetration, but not a cry of pain. My improvised addition to the normal compulsion routine is rewarding me generously. The girl begins to writhe below me, grinding herself on my thigh, moaning over and over again. And her blood tastes amazing. I can tell that she was drinking a _lot_ of vodka, the taste of it is an incredible compliment to the warm life force flowing from her into me. I don't ever want to stop.

Without warning, Megan climaxes in my arms. Her blood pumps double-time as her heart races to keep up with her exploding nerve endings. I finally withdraw my fangs from her neck when it begins to slow, licking my lips and sighing. That was over too soon. I'm still hungry. I feel like I haven't really eaten in ages. Regretfully, I begin to lead her out of the forest.

Elena's POV

This is it. I'm standing outside the diner that constitutes Damon's last known location. All the carefully planned speeches I put together on the way here are somehow impossible to remember. Honestly, I'm panicking. This is my one and only chance to convince him that I don't just want and need him because he is my sire.

Speak of the devil. _Is that Damon with a young, bloody girl, walking out of the woods?_

I know the sight shouldn't surprise me, shouldn't disgust me. But the satisfaction on both of their faces does not escape me. I remind myself that this is all just because Damon truly believes he is no longer with me, and therefore has no cause to be faithful to me.

But still.

Still!

Jealousy rages up inside of me and I storm over to the _couple_. Ugh. This is not the way I wanted this to go down, but seriously?! A young blonde girl?!

Damon glances up and sees me storming towards him. I try not to see what he's thinking, for once.

"Elena…. I-"

"Damon, I do _not_ want to hear your excuses!" I seethe, storming towards them, "I'm driving for _hours_ to track you down and here you are, just frolicking in the woods with some stupid human girl? What, did you use the good old snatch-please-erase technique on her?"

"Elena-" Damon pushes the girl away, and she stumbles back into the diner, as he takes a couple steps away from me. But I keep approaching.

"No! You can't just be with whoever the hell you want anymore! You are _Mine!_" I hiss, using my vampire speed to close the distance and slamming my lips into his.

And for a moment, he relents. I have my hands on either side of his head, offering him no easy escape. His hands move up my sides, then back down again, and I push him back into the wall of the diner. This, unfortunately, seems to snap him to his senses, as he suddenly pushes me back, then spins us, so I'm pinned between him and the wall. I can't say I hate it.

"Elena, I need you to be free of me. If I am your sire why won't you listen to me?" Damon seems desperate.

"Because, Damon," I begin slowly, looking deeply into his eyes, only inches away from my own, "I want to be with _you_. I can't go back to Stefan, even though you told me to. And the siring isn't what makes me want to be with you, either. If it was, I would have left Stefan for you the moment I turned, wouldn't I?" I watch him process this, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes, and I snatch onto it.

"I grew these feelings for you long before I ever was turned," I continue, "I know you saw them. Back at Denver, but even long before that, you were invading my heart. You are so permanently written in my soul, Damon, I can't ever shake you." I can see how badly he wants to believe me right now, so I decide to lay it all on the table. I'm betting everything on him right now.

"I'm not falling in love with you because I am sired to you, Damon," I bite my lip then finally confess, "If anything, I'm sired to you because I'm so deeply in love with you."

I watch the fear and the hope battle inside of Damon, and I move my hands up to hold his face in an incredibly familiar gesture of comfort between us.

"We will survive this, too, Damon. We've been through worse," I whisper with a small smile.

"I want to believe you, Elena," he murmurs, tracing his thumb along my cheekbone.

"Then do," I plead, "Trust me, like you always do. You know me, better than anyone, and you know that I was deeply in all-consuming love for you for months before I became a vampire."

Immediately I feel Damon's lips slam against mine. _Yes_. Finally I'm back home in Damon's arms. If being sired is what gave me the strength to follow him here, then it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

But I know without a doubt that what I said was true.

I love this man.

I love Damon.

Damon's POV

Do I dare believe it?

Elena Gilbert loves me.

But I can feel it radiating off of her in her kiss, just like I did last night. Her love. Consuming her. Consuming me.

So I grant her wish. I trust her. I wrap my arms around her as tightly as I can, with no fear of breaking her. Our kiss deepens as we activate our muscle-memory passion, dissolving into quick gasps and low moans. I feel her hands curl into my hair, and I drop my own hands a little lower, my mouth following as I kiss down her cheek, then her neck, then along her collarbone. God, I love her so much I can barely breathe.

_Mine._ _Elena is mine._ I will never let her go again. This is it, I know it. And she knows it too. She declared it moments ago, I am hers. And I don't mind being her possession one bit. I smirk inwardly as I wonder if this is what it feels like to be sired. I would do anything for my beautiful Elena.

I guess we're sired to each other.

-fin-

**Well guys, that's it.**

**Happy Delena ending**


End file.
